Police arrest woman who allegedly ran over homeless man in SE Houston

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Houston police are searching for witnesses in the death of a homeless man who was sleeping in a tent in front of a southeast Houston car wash.

Maria Guadalupe Bravo-Nieto, 40, has been charged with "failure to stop and give information - fixture or highway landscaping," but police believe she may have run over the man.

"I cried yesterday, but I'm all out of tears," said the victim's friend, David Johnson.

At about 1:30 a.m. Monday, Shell gas station clerk Marque Barlow said he was with a Precinct 6 deputy constable when they heard a loud bang.

"I ran around the corner and I saw the car back into the pole, so I called HPD, and me and the Precinct 6 guy were trying to get the keys out the car from the lady because she was driving forward and back," Barlow said.

Then, Barlow said, the deputy constable had to leave.

"He was like, 'Are you on the phone with HPD?' I'm like, 'Yes.' He's like, 'Well, I have to go back to my post, so here are the keys to the car, wait until HPD gets here,'" Barlow explained. "I don't think I should have been in charge with her not being an officer, but who else was going to make sure they didn't drive off and hurt somebody else?"

By the time Houston Police arrived, they said Bravo-Nieto had walked off.

About three hours later, police finally arrested the suspect for damaging property and leaving the scene.

But, 12 hours after that, police received a call about a dead body on the other side of the same car wash.

Detectives now believe Bravo-Nieto ran over a sleeping man just before running into the pole.

But, so far, nobody has come forward as a witness to the crash and Bravo-Nieto was never tested for alcohol.

"If all this happened out here, why didn't they look? They know somebody stays here with a tent. If she ran over the tent, why didn't they check the tent to see if anybody was over there or not?" asked Johnson.

A Precinct 6 spokesperson said she had just learned about the allegation and would be providing information when possible.

Houston Police say the case is still under investigation and more charges could be coming.

Precinct 6 released this statement to Eyewitness News in regards to the incident:

Preliminary information confirms that a Precinct 6 Deputy was at the Shell Station early on in the incident.

It is our understanding that the Houston Police Department was called and has taken the lead regarding this fatality investigation and we will be working with them to provide whatever information is needed.

We have reached out to the Shell Station for a copy of the video to confirm the information you are requesting.

We have been advised by the Shell Station that the Houston Police Department has the video, therefore, we will be making that request from HPD.

Our Internal Affairs has started conducting our own Internal Investigation.